When a team has a chip on its shoulder and talks about a lack of respect, that's when a club can be the most dangerous.
The South Tahoe girls soccer team couldn't figure out why it wasn't ranked higher in the Sierra Nevada Media rankings and really couldn't figure out why a team like Reed, which South Tahoe has beaten twice, was still ranked higher than the Vikings.
But there should be no problem with a lack of respect any more and the Vikings should move up considerably in the rankings after a 3-1 win over No. 1 Carson at CHS on Saturday.
"They had a goal today," Viking coach Clint Lockhart said. "They've been working hard. There have been some tough practices."
Lockhart said he told his team "if they play like the practice... It paid off with the game today."
Carson had just come off a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a tournament and was missing several key players. But Senator coach Randy Roser wouldn't use any of that as an excuse. "They just outplayed us," Roser said. "There was just no taking away from Tahoe."
Ironically, South Tahoe beat Carson at its own game while denying the Senators their own game. Carson likes to live on the long balls and used the speed of Kayla Sanchez, Brandi Vega and Helaine Berris.
But the Vikings were determined not to let that happen and Roser knew it. "They're not going to let Helaine Berris and Kayla Sanchez get the breakaways," Roser said.
Roser said his plan was to spread the field, but it just didn't work. "It was all about the decisions," Riser said. "It was a great learning lesson for them."
Meanwhile, the Vikings used the long ball to score two of its three goals. "Tahoe played a very through, straight forward type ball action and it just worked for them," Roser said.
Tess Braun contributed to all three goals for the Vikings, scoring on a penalty kick and assisting on the other two goals, both scored by Alli Fox. After a foul was called in the goal box, Braun scored on a penalty kick to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead.
Braun then sent a long ball to Fox, who scored on a breakaway to give South Tahoe a 2-0 lead. In the second half, Jen Johnson, who played well at goal and made eight saves for Carson, made an excellent save to deny Braun to keep the Senators in the game. But later, Braun sent another long pass to Fox, who scored to effectively put the game away.
Carson scored in the last five minutes off of Vega's corner kick. Emily Field took the kick and scored on a header for the final margin.
Among others who took shots for Carson were Berris, Becca Kane, Vega, Miriah Tompkins and Sanchez.
Lockhart credited the play of goalie Candace Prescott and defenders Morgan Cook, Janelle Perasso, Brittany "Squirt" Barcellos and Kelsie Buts for shutting down Carson.
"A lot of it was pure determination," Lockhart said. "Our strategy was to keep the ball out of Kayla's hands as much as possible.
"It's a big win. Randy always does a good job with his girls. Carson is definitely one of the premiere teams in the league."